Summary: How the FBI and NYPD are looking for would-be Muslim terrorists, and a conversation with an Orthodox Jewish matchmaker.

Creating America’s War on Terror

February 07, 2013

The FBI gets billions of dollars every year to fight terrorism--and they can't come back empty-handed. That's the conclusion of investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson, who documents how the FBI is hiring thousands of informants to infiltrate American Muslim communities and strike up conversations with anyone they believe might harbor a terrorist thought. If all goes according to plan, these would-be radicals agree to carry out a violent plot - a plot they wouldn't be able to pull off without government help.

Imagine you’re an American Muslim, sitting in a café with a cup of coffee, chatting with your friend about the Koran. Beside you, a man is furtively scribbling in his notebook. He could be a “raker,” the unofficial name given to the plainclothes New York police officers tasked with trolling Muslim hotspots to find the next potential terrorist. The NYPD’s tactics are not unlike the FBI’s, with one crucial difference: the New York Police Department has very little oversight.
Read official police reports that profile American Muslims.

These days, couples find love in any number of ways, from the bar to the Web. But ever since Isaac and Rebecca, many Jewish couples have found each other through a matchmaker. Rabbi YY Rubenstein, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who has matched 55 couples, explains why it’s a tradition that’s still going strong.